


Highwaymen

by orphan_account



Category: Tokio Hotel
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Not Related, BAMF!Bill, BAMF!Tom, Drama, Humor, Kidnapping, M/M, Romance, Twincest, Twincest-Non Related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 10:41:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being kidnapped by a band of deplorable Highwaymen wasn’t on Bill’s to-do list for that day, but some things were just out of his control. One thing was for certain: he wasn’t going to fall in love with their dashing leader. Forbidden romance was <i>so</i> passé.</p><p>FQF 2011</p>
            </blockquote>





	Highwaymen

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Prompt: Tom/Bill, historical AU. Tom is a highwaymen leader. They kidnap a young aristocrat, Bill, counting on a huge ransom, but Bill’s stepfather refuses to pay. Bill has to travel with the band and endure their wild way of life. Include mortified and fussy Bill and extremely amused Tom. ;D - submitted by chiara_esenia
> 
> Also at the time of starting the main bulk of the story I had just consumed a capful of night nurse. This may or may not have beem a bad idea. In addition may I add that this story has very little historical accuracy, the language alone is so modern that it should have an iPod in a space shuttle.

Let us set the scene.

It is 1804 and King George III is fallen ill again set upon by the madness that claimed him in bouts throughout his life causing him to see his parliament as inanimate objects but the trees in the park worthy of retort. Upon his majesty’s recovery Addington resigned and the ever popular William Pitt regained power to help run the country as Prime Minister.

It is 1804 and the Great British nation is suspicious of the French and so, heading the Napoleonic wars, Lord Admiral Nelson is Britain’s hero. He is The People’s Admiral.

It is 1804 Fop fashion is on the way out, replaced by the beautifully vain Dandies. They are the Jeunesse Dorée of England clad in dark jackets designed especially to show off the fine linen cravats underneath. A new fashion in tight trousers replaces the old oddly shaped breeches and powdered wigs are _so yesterday_ , darling (especially now that the King put a tax on wig powder to help pay for the wars being held in France). 

It is 1804 and the crimes of the highways made popular by Matt King and John Palmer in the year 1735 are still in full swing. These are the very dandy highwaymen who are so well dressed because they would literally steal the shirts off mens’ backs, little knowing that theirs’ was to become a dying breed in a mere decade.

Yes, it is The 21st of October 1804 and our story is about to begin.

~*~  
Bill was a bit of a Dandy. He had never been fond of the term, but he couldn’t deny that when it came to the heights of men’s fashion, he was the ultimate fickle butterfly. Glorious clothes were simple one of his greatest passions in life. When one was the wealthy step-son of the lord of the manor one could afford to buy the best. Gordon had no (legitimate) offspring of his own and so, as well as succeeding his own father’s estate as soon as he had turned eighteen, he would inherit Gordon’s when the man died. Well, after his mother of course. He still had all the influence though. A woman, even a wealthy, affluent, influential, land-owning one, wouldn’t be able to vote let alone run to represent the local parliament. Not that you didn’t need to be all of these things _and_ male to vote. Only those who owned land could vote. It had been that way for a long, long time. Bill didn’t know much of politics to know whether that was fair at all.

Then again even if the voting system _was_ a fair voting system, the only person to vote for was the lord of the manor’s son anyway.

As a young man, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to deciding local politics. Things like tax rates and fair division of the work force were beyond his capabilities. He was sure that his good friend Andreas would make a much more sensible mp, but Bill wasn’t up for election at any point soon anyway. As such all these worries weren’t his for now; they still belonged to his step-father.

Bill himself was travelling to the estate in London. He wouldn’t have bothered with the move if it were solely his choice. He quite liked living in the country estate, but Gordon was adamant that the house was much too cold in the winter and it would be easier on all of them if there were all together in the family’s town house for the bitter winter months.

He had to concede that he had noticed the temperature dropping rapidly through October despite only occupying a quarter of the easterly wing to avoid having to ask the maid to stoke fires in all of the empty rooms. It would have been a waste of coal as well as a drain on poor Natalie’s time. She was a dear and always so happy to help Bill with the latest jacket or cuff accessory that he insisted he needed to wear but couldn’t quite dress himself with.

London excited Bill, he wasn’t a socialite, but he enjoyed viewing the scene from the sidelines. He loved London; its brashness; its high society; its fine dining and even finer conversations. What he didn’t enjoy however was the smell.

The stables in London were numerous and necessary to keep the industries going, but with such a high concentration of horses and people the stench was sometimes far too much to deal with. He definitely wasn’t looking to breathing through lace handkerchiefs dipped in chloride of lime for the next few months.

He shouldn’t complain really, there was always a price to pay for whatever area one chose to keep their residence, if you took the country air you also took the boredom and the solitude, if you took the company and the frivolity of the city then one suffered a far higher chance of ill health. It had always been this way and would probably continue to be so.

Bill daydreamed often, these thoughts, sporadic and haphazard as they were always tumbled through his mind allowing him to while the time away on these long journeys. His driver would press on as long as he was able before stopping, Bill was perfectly willing to let the man stop whenever he needed especially since he was doing all the work, but the driver was under Gordon’s orders. If there was something that Gordon couldn’t abide it was inefficiency. He probably would have hired two drivers so that there would never be need to stop if it weren’t for the second thing he could never abide; spending unnecessary money.

It was fine that they were driving this country road at night though, it had always had a reputation for being safe and Bill had heard no word of any dangers lurking in the countryside of late. It was, aside from the occasional hole the driver might not see in the dark, perfectly safe.

Or at least that’s what Bill had thought.

~*~

“Oi, you damn swine, you’re snoring.” Complained Georg throwing a nearby stone to the stocky blond next to him.

“Bugger off,” Gustav muttered in reply turning over and resuming his sleeping activities. Gustav was a ridiculously morning person, but once he was asleep it was hard to wake him until then.

“I swear in the name of all that is holy, I’ll get Tom to drop you out of the camp so you can go snore on your own.” Georg spat through his teeth.

All of the gang had been on edge; they had been planning this little move for a while. The notorious gang of Kaulitz had a reputation for robbing gentlemen at gunpoint and seducing women out of their diamonds, and their petticoats (though that last part was entirely rumour spread by those few women who had caught a glimpse of Tom’s handsome face and wanted to take home a little gossip), but this next venture was well beyond their normal modus operandi. They hoped that the rewards would be high, but as this crime required spending time practically static it also carried far higher risks than anything else they had done before.

“Just to inform you Georg,” Tom said peeking under the brim of his hat to shoot a withering look at his crew, “you’re worse than him. So maybe the two of you could go snuggle in the forest and I could get a decent night’s sleep.”

“You know you’d never sleep without me here sweetie.”

“That must be the answer; I can’t think of any other reason I let you hang around with me. You’re useless at everything else.” Tom replied leaning back against the tree and trying to fall back into what had been a fitful sleep. He was lucky that the other guys hadn’t woken yet. They would just start panicking about the plan and how Tom had really lost it this time and they were all going to get caught and die.

Tom couldn’t remember why he let those guys into the gang anyway aside from them not being accepted into general society for some reason and so they had nothing to lose. Personally he thought that they were probably lovers escaping and arranged marriage. It would make about as much sense as any of the other explanation he had thus far come up with.

The dark haired leader was broken from his moment of introspection by Georg adding a jovial, “You mean it wasn’t for my wonderful singing skills?” before proceeding to break into a loud and tuneless rendition of ‘God Save The King’.

“David and Timo are still asleep, though god knows how, and I’d appreciate it greatly if you didn’t wake them up you oaf.” Tom hissed. He wouldn’t add his second thought that ‘you never knew who could be listening and watching.’ Even if he thought that they could be caught he didn’t want to say it outright. As the driving force behind their gang he had to maintain a front of the upmost determination and optimism to his men, especially when they were undertaking a task as rife with risk as this.

Why did he think this was a good idea again?

Someone really needed to remind him.

~*~

The ride was long and boring, the two of them had been travelling all day, but the rider was a particularly humourless and religious man who could barely speak two words to Bill without insisting that he should say prayers for his sinful thoughts and beg God and all the saints to have mercy on his soul. Rather than sit through another one of those particularly _riveting _conversations Bill had opted to spend the rest of the journey in silence.__

__Bill didn’t cope well with silence._ _

__He had tried at one point to break the silence by quietly singing to himself until the driver (for the life of him Bill could never remember his name despite having been shuffled back and forth by the man for years) had told him in no uncertain terms that popular music was sinful. The guy _had_ to have been a secret puritan born a couple of hundred years too late. Or maybe he was perfectly normal and got his entertainment by telling other people off for no reason._ _

__Yes, Bill was bored, and now there was nothing he could do to alleviate it. He settled for staring out of the carriage window and making up stories in his head about the people that passed him by. For example, that young couple whom Bill had seen not a mile back had certainly been courting in a manner entirely inappropriate for those unmarried. He could tell by the ruffled shirts of the maid, the haphazardly buttoned coat of the gentleman and the bashful grins on the faces of both._ _

__He was able to continue on in this vein for quite some time until the driver reached an abrupt halt. Having not warned Bill of an imminent stop the passenger assumed that there was an obstacle in the road or some other sensible reason._ _

__What Bill did not expect however was for the door to his carriage to be opened and for him to be pulled bodily out and held at gun point, though Bill wondered in a slight panic induced haze, why they bothered to hold him at gun point if they were going to manhandle him anyway. If he were totally honest with himself he had far too much adrenaline rushing through his body to figure out _what_ was going on._ _

__The driver was on the road as well, he was stood next to two men who were also armed with guns. “I don’t have any money.” The old man said, “We only packed the bare essentials for travel.”_ _

__Bill knew this to be a lie for he himself had pack several valuable pieces of jewellery and finery, but he also knew that despite his tendency to berate Bill for all of his deeds, good, bad and indifferent, he was unwaveringly loyal. He had never been more grateful to travel with this man than now._ _

__“I don’t doubt it my good man,” one of the strangers said, he appeared to be the only man unarmed (or at least without a hand on his weapon) but that only served to make Bill fear him even more, what reputation must a man have where he feels no need to use weapons to intimidate a person into compliance? “But it’s not you we’re interested in.” He continued, “We’re much more interested in this beauty.” His bow was grand and mocking, grabbing Bill’s hand and bringing it to his lips in an imitation of a kiss as though Bill should be treated as a young maiden._ _

__Snatching his hand away Bill hissed, “And what, pray tell, do you want with me?”_ _

__“Ah, we’ve got ourselves a feisty one.” His captor said with a chuckle raising a laugh from the others, Bill could count five in his vision including the leader, but he didn’t dare turn to see if there were any more. “My dear, what more could I want than the pleasure of your company?”_ _

__“Forgive me if I do not believe you.”_ _

__“Okay,” he said, raising his hands in mock surrender “you’ve got me. You’re Bill Trumper, correct?”_ _

__Defiantly, Bill lifted his chin in what he hoped was a show of strength and not of naivety, “And what of it?”_ _

__“Then simply put you’ll stay with us and your stepfather will pay for your safe and timely return.” Tom said, “It’s not very complicated.”_ _

__“How do you propose that will work?”_ _

__The unidentified criminal held out a sealed letter to the driver who was still being held at gunpoint. “This explains all that Gordon needs to know, send it to him, there’s a good chap.” He said no longer addressing Bill, “and Master Bill here will be returned to you as swift as your reply.”_ _

__With a shaking hand and an even shakier voice the driver replied, “As you wish,” and disappeared with the carriage including all of Bill’s things. He doubted that the driver would be much good in a fight against at least five unarmed fugitives, but now he was gone and Bill was on his own, his fear increased tenfold. He had never been scared for his safety before, not in real life at least._ _

__The stranger, now he was left alone with Bill, seemed to feel at ease enough that he removed his necktie from his face. Bill could now clearly see the clearly the face of the man who had kidnapped him, but Bill couldn’t make any rationalisation of the man’s features, he was too plagued by terror. He could see that the man had dark hair and brown eyes and symmetrical features, but that was about it._ _

__“Now we’ve got that out of the way.” He said, “Since you’ll be here for a few days we should introduce ourselves, I already know who you are, but my name is Tom Kaulitz.”_ _

__Bill’s barely managed to restrain his look of complete surprise. _The_ Tom Kaulitz? He didn’t know whether to be fascinated or even more terrified._ _

__“Let us not linger in the open.” The man, _Tom_ , said “Georg, you take him on your horse and we ride back to camp.”_ _

__The man whom Bill assumed to be Georg and the stocky blond man manhandled him onto the horse (that particular stallion had to have been extremely well trained or extremely stupid to not start at the treatment it was receiving as Bill was saddled.) and Bill decided that if he was going to speak up then he thought that maybe now was the only chance he had._ _

__“If you don’t let me go,” Bill said as clearly as possible, “I’ll scream and until someone finds me.”_ _

__“You can scream if you like,” Tom acquiesced, “but as for someone finding you, I hate to inform you that I very much doubt it my dear.”_ _

__“Don’t make me gag you.” Georg said climbing onto the horse behind Bill to prevent him from trying to jump off en route to the camp. Bill tried to follow the route to the camp so that he could find some way back to the main road if he can escape, but the route was nothing but trees through the forest the same as any mundane forest in Britain, if it weren’t for the fact Bill knew the road that he was supposed to be travelling he would have no idea even in which county he was._ _

__It seemed an age before they arrived, but eventually the camp was finally in sight and Bill was all but pushed off the horse as Georg brought it to a standstill. Dizzy from shock and weariness Bill collapsed to the floor in a manner so ungraceful that he should have been embarrassed._ _

__“Falling for me already I see?” Tom said amused at the prone boy on the floor. _He_ had managed to jump off his horse elegantly stooping down to offer his hand to help Bill to his feet. Bill, loath to accept help from such low-lives, batted Tom’s hand away and stood up by himself. He was strong and independent; he wasn’t some wilting flower that needed to be taken care of._ _

__Tom just laughed._ _

__~*~_ _

__Bill was covered in mud from his fall onto the wet late October ground and he was slick with sweat from sitting too close to the fire that the group had set up. He had sat further away from the fire so he wouldn’t be too warm, but the rope that joined Tom and Bill at the wrist grew taught and uncomfortable and even that little distance from the fire invited the cool night air to chill him through and through._ _

__Simply put he was _not_ impressed._ _

__When reading of highwaymen he had thought their life, whilst damnable, at least romantic, but this was as far from a romantic profession as it seemed possible to be. It was gritty and basic and _dirty_._ _

__Bill liked his life to be a little _hygienic_ ; this was anything but. He had never missed Natalie preparing him a hot bath more than he did now. He had been given a share of the food which was some kind of basic stew, and whilst Bill appreciated that one couldn’t get fine cuisine on a campfire, but he wasn’t even sure what was _in_ this. Was that meat? Potato? A rock? He was fairly sure it was better to starve than to eat this, whatever _this_ was._ _

__“I want a bath.” He eventually said loudly over the top of whatever meaningless conversation that David and Gustav were having._ _

__There was a pause amid the general chatter before all of them burst into laughter, except Tom who just gave a wry smile. “Fat chance,” Gustav said, “we’re about a day’s ride from the closest tavern.”_ _

__“You’re just going to have to put up with it, princess.” Georg interjected._ _

__Bill slammed his bowl on the ground next to him, “Look, you may be happy stinking to high hell and back but I have some standards. Where did you get your water from?”_ _

__“The stream.” Tom said, “But good luck trying to take a bath in that, it’s about an six inches deep.”_ _

__Huffing, Bill stood up taking Tom’s arm with him. “That will do, if you’re going to kidnap me you might as well make sure I want to be easy to live with.”_ _

__Tom stood up using the rope to help him thereby pulling Bill off balance and causing him to stumble. “Come on,” he said tugging Bill behind him as he strode purposefully towards some dark part of the forest. Bill hoped that Tom was letting him wash rather than taking him out to shoot him somewhere away from the camp and dumping his body._ _

__~*~_ _

__The water was cool in the winter breeze but Bill had never been more grateful to see it. Hopefully Tom wouldn’t bother to bring him all this way to wash if he was planning on shooting him thereafter; Tom didn’t strike him as particularly subtle._ _

__It had been slightly embarrassing to strip down as much as he could (as he was still connected to Tom via the rope) to wash himself with his one free hand in the deepest part of the frigid water. Tom was right in that most of the water was very shallow, but there were one or two spots where it was deeper and Bill insisted on making Tom walk with him as far as it took to find a sufficiently deep spot so that he could at least sit in it._ _

__Tom had his eyes closed at Bill’s behest, but kept a tight grip on the rope to make sure that Bill didn’t try to make a break for it whilst he was unguarded. Bill got the feeling that Tom just found the whole situation completely amusing._ _

__“I don’t want to sleep with those people there.” Bill said against the splashing sounds of the brook, “You’ve all made it very clear that you think I’m a woman and I don’t want to be subject to lecherous glares whilst I sleep.”_ _

__“Sorry to tell you this Billy-boy, you’d make a terrible woman.” Tom said closing his eyes as he dosed against the overhanging tree. “If we promise not to stare will that be alright?”_ _

__“No.” Bill stated simply, “You’re a gang of thieves; I can hardly be expected to trust you at your word.”_ _

__“Well you’re not sleeping on your own.” Tom said, “I can hardly be expected to trust that you won’t escape, after all this trouble I’m not letting you leave yet.”_ _

__~*~_ _

__At Bill’s fussing he was allowed to sleep separately from the bulk of the gang, so that they could get some rest if nothing else. Tom was the only one with him at the time, he was there to keep an eye on his captive and still being bound together by rope to the wrist so that Tom would be alerted should Bill try to escape. Bill had hoped that the two of them would be sleeping as far apart as it was possible but they were lying side by side. The disadvantage of being away from the group was being away from the fire so Tom had suggested they lie close to conserve body heat._ _

__Bill of course had voted against this idea, but majority rules when your vote doesn’t count._ _

__“I’ve heard about you.” Bill said breaking the silence around him. If he couldn’t sleep then he’d be damned if he was going to let Tom sleep either._ _

__“Really?” Tom’s indifferent drawl told Bill all he needed to know about what Tom thought of Bill’s apparent Knowledge, “What is it that you’ve heard then?”_ _

__“I heard you can shoot the wings of a butterfly at a hundred paces.” Bill said face close to Tom’s, “I’ve heard that you’ve escaped gaol twelve times without leaving a trace in your cell as to how.” Bill noticed that he could feel Tom’s warm breath on his face and despite himself his heart cluttered in his chest. If nothing else he had to admit that Tom was very beautiful. “I heard that a notorious lover of women _and_ men.”_ _

__“You have, have you?” Tom breathed, and Bill thought, for a brief second, that if Tom said ‘Jump’ he was liable to ask ‘how high?’_ _

__“Y-yes.” Bill stuttered feeling entirely embarrassed that this criminal could affect him so._ _

__Tom’s raucous laugh was practically spat in Bill’s face and he rolled onto his back in his mirth. Bill felt the faint murmurs of attraction no more and instead was filled with righteous indication. “That’s the biggest load of rubbish I’ve ever heard” he said staring at the sky, “well,” he said looking back at Bill after a pause, “most of it. One of those things is true. I’ll let you figure out which.” He finished with a smirk._ _

__Bill was tempted to smack Tom over the head with a nearby branch, but instead settled for all but shouting, “Well having met you I doubt any of it is true. You’re the most useless highwayman there is.”_ _

__“And yet here you are...” Tom drawled again, “now shut up before you’re not worth your ransom.”_ _

__“I’ll be gone soon anyway.” Bill insisted, “Gordon will meet your petty demands and I’ll be as far away from you as I can get.”_ _

__“You better hope so,” came back the cocky remark, “‘Cause if you’re not worth anything then you’re certainly not worth keeping alive. Not with the amount you whine like a sodden pup.”_ _

__“I do not whine! I certainly don’t...”_ _

__“Bill,” Tom said in a neutral voice cutting Bill’s rant short. “Go to sleep.”_ _

__And despite the protest lingering on the tip of his tongue, he did._ _

__~*~_ _

__Hans arrived with the horse and carriage at the estate only stopping for the bare essential amount of time. He wasn’t expected back for at least a day, but without Bill and having the strength of fear behind him he made the journey in record time. He ran up to the house and knocked on the door, he didn’t know what the letter contained, but he felt that time was of the essence, especially as Bill was now a good number of day’s ride away even at speed._ _

__“Hello Hans,” Gordon said answering the door, “You’re earlier that we expected, I’m afraid Simone is out of the house for a little while, but I’m sure Bill needs some time to settle back into his room anyway.”_ _

__“Bill’s not here sir.” Hans said succinctly._ _

__“Not here?” The other asked, “Why on earth not,”_ _

__“There were bandits on the road, they told me to give you this.” The nervous driver said holding out the letter clutched shakily in his hand. Gordon snatched it away from him hurriedly tearing it open to read its contents._ _

__After quickly scanning the letter he looked up into the face of his driver, “Have you read this?” Gordon asked him._ _

__“No sir, I was told that it was for your eyes only.”_ _

__“Good. We don’t pay.” He said pocketing the letter._ _

__“What?” Hans was simply confused. Gordon was not going to pay?_ _

__“I shan’t pander to the will of vagrants,” Gordon said, “I shall not pay for Bill’s return.”_ _

__“Then what of Bill?” Hans asked, despite thinking him a godless child, he did not consider even for a moment that leaving him in the grip of these _fiends_ was a good idea._ _

__“Bill is safe enough for now, we shall sort something, and Hans?”_ _

__“Yes sir?” the driver replied with a short bow._ _

__“Do not tell Simone of this.” Gordon insisted, “She is a weak willed woman, if she hears of it she will pay these rogues whatever they ask. I cannot abide seeing the hard earned money of generations of work go to these scoundrels. We must instead inform the proper authorities and let them deal with this matter in due course.”_ _

__“Then what do we tell the kidnappers?” Hans asked._ _

__“That we won’t pay. There are no further explanations needed. You ride on to give the message and I shall catch you as soon as the preparations are in place.”_ _

__“Of course sir,” Hans replied with a deep bow, and pausing only to ready himself for the return journey he rode off towards the north again to seek out the gang once more._ _

__~*~_ _

__Gordon waited until Hans left with the reply before grinning to himself, Bill was the sole heir to a vast estate, one that the fool would probably squander or leave to rack and ruin with his carelessness and frivolity. Gordon had had his eye on it for some time, Bill’s next of Kin was his mother and with the little brat out of the way the estate was as good as his._ _

__He hadn’t been planning on getting rid of the boy just yet, perhaps instead poisoning Simone against her son before Bill could lay claim to his father’s lands, but this was a much simpler option and much more likely to lead to success. This way Gordon could not be blamed on the boy’s untimely demise and there was little chance of something going wrong, after all, what honour was there in a hoard of thieves? Yes, after Gordon’s reply Bill would be dead before sunset._ _

__Rubbing his hands together he felt almost on the brink of giggling, this was simply perfect luck._ _

__~*~  
Bill did not appreciate being treated as a housemother. He hadn’t been expected to do his own cooking and cleaning when he lived on his own, so now that (for some completely unknown reason) Timo had decided that Bill was to do everyone _else’s_ cooking and cleaning he felt completely put out._ _

__At first Bill had, in a fit of spite, wanted to throw all the food into the stream and watch it disappear down to the sea until he realised that if he left the highwaymen without food then he’d likely go hungry as well. He stank and was still dressed in the travel clothes from a week ago; he definitely didn’t wish to add starvation to the already extensive list of negatives of his current predicament._ _

__Strangely enough though, it wasn’t all negative. He had learnt that Georg wasn’t as much of a git as he had first assumed and instead was brash with all his compatriots and a cared deeply for all them as much as he enjoyed making fun of them. Bill didn’t think Georg particularly cared about _his_ well being, but it did make him feel less personally aggrieved every time the brunet called him ‘princess’._ _

__Gustav was particularly quiet and stoic rarely making a comment (though often happy to give back to Georg as good as he gave), but he seemed to treat Bill as a person, or at least far more so than the other seemed to._ _

__David and Timo (for some reason it was impossible for Bill to separate them in his mind) seemed glued at the hip, wherever the one went, the other followed. Even when the gang members took shifts for night watches the two of them would prefer to take two shifts together than to sleep without the other one next to them. Bill didn’t question their motives, they interacted very little with him and so he decided it was not his place to judge._ _

__And then there was Tom._ _

__Tom was, despite being a crook and a scoundrel, a pretty nice guy. He laughed when Bill complained, he poked fun at everyone often, and he had the manners of a hound, but still..._ _

__Tom was kind. Tom was smart. Tom was handsome. Tom was..._ _

__Bill had to stop himself on that train of thought. He wasn’t going to fall in love with the dashing leader. Forbidden romance was _so_ passé and cliché and lots of other French words ending in é. It was simply not Bill._ _

__~*~_ _

__“Why did you?” breaking the silence was becoming Bill’s standard role when caught in these late night stretches with Tom. He had been there a little over a fortnight now, and they had grown accustomed to chatting to each other about simple things when the night called. They still slept separately from the rest of the gang although Bill didn’t find them all that deplorable he still felt no inclination to sleep beside them._ _

__“Why did I what?” Tom said, he no longer took a scathing tone in the wake of Bill’s questioning, instead starting to accept it as routine._ _

__“Why did you become a highwayman?”_ _

__Tom gave a half shrug. “Not sure,” he answered, “it just happened. I suppose it seemed like the natural progression.”_ _

__“So walk me through it then.” Bill insisted._ _

__“Not much to tell,” Tom said, “My father died or left or some other similar thing when I was very little. I never knew what happened except that I didn’t have a father there.”_ _

__“Never?”_ _

__“It was always just me and my mother. I didn’t care to ask. Being just the two of us though meant that money was always short and if money is short then so is food. I was never starved, but I was never full either.”_ _

__“How often did you eat?” Bill asked with a morbid curiosity, Bill had never wanted for food or drink, he thought back to times as a child where he had turned up his nose at perfectly good food just because it was prepared in a way he didn’t care for, his face began to burn with lingering shame and guilt._ _

__“Enough,” Tom said, “Others had it worse, but we needed more money so I started poaching rabbits off the farmer’s land and selling them at market. One thing led to another and I got picked up by Jost’s gang.”_ _

__“As in David Jost?” Bill inquired in amazement, him he had definitely heard of._ _

__“The very same,” he answered, “I guess you heard of his capture.”_ _

__“And execution.” Bill added._ _

__“Yes,” Tom sighed, “That too. I had managed to escape the authorities, I was only young at the time and it was easy to hide, so I went off on my own and did what I did best. As you can see I managed to pick up a few stragglers along the way.”_ _

__“I suppose,” Bill smiled knowing all too well that Tom counted him amongst those, “And your mother?”_ _

__Tom shook his head and his eyes grew sad, “Dead now last I heard. It’s hard to keep track on the road.”_ _

__“I’m sorry,” Bill said. He didn’t know how to comfort Tom. He doubted the other man would be open for a hug. He didn’t even really know if Tom _needed_ comfort; Tom certainly wouldn’t ask for it if he did._ _

__“We should sleep I think.” Tom said, “I expect we shall need to move on tomorrow.”_ _

__“Alright. Goodnight Tom.”_ _

__~*~_ _

__Hans was nervous. He was walking to the arranged meeting point and he knew that the gang would not be happy at his message. He hoped against hope that they didn’t shoot the messenger, he hoped even more that they wouldn’t harm Bill without a monetary incentive to keep him safe and cared for._ _

__Out from the dark of the trees a shadow stepped forward, it was a tall lean figure, still too dark to identify Hans had thought that perhaps it was Bill put forward to make the dealings with the kidnappers there to oversee in the background, but he knew in the back of his mind that that was unlikely._ _

__“Do you have it?” The man asked. Hans thought it was the same person who had given the instructions, he still couldn’t see his face, but the voice was the same._ _

__It took Hans a moment to gather his courage before he was able to reply. “No,” he paused half a moment before deciding to add, “Sir. We do not pay.”_ _

__“You do not pay?” parroted Tom, calm and slightly incredulous. “When you say we you mean Gordon don’t you? I doubt he cares about his rival’s safety.”_ _

__“Rival?” Hans couldn’t help but ask, “How is Bill a rival?”_ _

__“Oh, I’m sure you know.” the other said in a tone half jovial, half terrifying, “Bill has a lot of money that I’m sure a money hungry businessman like Gordon would be very interested in relieving him of it.”_ _

__“No.” Hans insisted, trying to remember how Gordon phrased it, “We won’t pander to the will of criminals.”_ _

__But the bandit was clearly in no mood for ideologies, “You get the money from Gordon and Bill’s mother or the boy’s life _will_ be forfeit. Mark my words.”_ _

__~*~_ _

__Bill hadn’t heard most of the conversation between Tom and the driver. He wasn’t even supposed to be here in the event that someone tried to help him escape, but after Georg had fallen asleep Bill grew bored and restless. In addition to trying to find a way to curb his boredom, Bill really wanted to find out if Tom really _was_ meeting with someone from his family estate. One the one hand if they had met and money changed hands, Bill could leave on the other hand if they met and money changed hands then Bill would _have_ to leave._ _

__He wasn’t sure if he wanted that. He had grown a certain _attachment_ to the group, even Tom. Who was he kidding, _especially_ Tom. Until now that was._ _

__He rarely heard Tom talk in that voice, but he recognised it as his command voice. If Tom was speaking like that then he was not in the mood to be trifled with. As Bill walked closer he was able to hear the conversation taking place, “You get the money from Gordon and Bill’s mother or the boy’s life _will_ be forfeit. Mark my words.”_ _

__He hardly wanted to believe it was Tom. Tom, the same man who spoke to him at nights, the same man who didn’t quite snore whilst he slept, the same man who complimented Bill on a job well done, a sentiment Bill hadn’t been shown for many a year, was speaking of his dispatch so casually and calmly. And all this over _money_?_ _

__He didn’t know where he would go or what he would do, but he wasn’t staying here. He would run until he found travellers he would keep going until he got to a town that had a straight road to London and then he would go home and have a hot meal that he didn’t have to cook himself. It wasn’t as if he wanted to stay here anyway, it was a horrible, dirty, unlawful existence._ _

__So why did his heart feel like it was tearing to pieces?_ _

__~*~_ _

__Tom had no intention of harming Bill ransom or no ransom. He had, quite against his will, grown attached to the other man, but that didn’t mean that he was just going to say okay and let him go without the money being paid. He needed it to set up a permanent base, others would call it a house, but if he was honest the forests would always be his real home. Just because he could have somewhere to live didn’t mean that he would stop in his profession. By the time Jost was captured he had a residence in almost every one of the south counties and yet he still opted to spend most of his time on the road._ _

__Tom saw himself being the same way, but without the capturing and hanging aspect of course._ _

__“Now you go and take a message to Simone. I don’t want you to tell Gordon of this, just Simone. If Gordon is not going to pay the ransom, then she must.”_ _

__“But I,” the driver began._ _

__“Go!” Tom bellowed. He didn’t want to hear any more of this feeble man’s arguments. He was done here._ _

__Bill didn’t have to know anything._ _

__~*~_ _

__“Tom!” Georg said, the man seemed in a fit of panic, “Bill’s gone.”_ _

__“Gone?” Tom questioned, “What do you mean gone?”_ _

__“What he means,” the normally silent Gustav interjected from the corner, “is that Georg fell asleep on his watch and Bill is no-where to be seen.”_ _

__“But Bill has never tried to run away.” Tom stated, “Even at the beginning.”_ _

__“I don’t know what to tell you,” Gustav said, “He’s gone.”_ _

__“Was no-one watching him?” Tom asked the group, “Not one of you?” But he didn’t really expect an answer, it wouldn’t change what this all came down to; Bill was missing._ _

__“Come on,” he said standing up and packing his pistols, “he can’t have gotten far.”_ _

__~*~_ _

__Bill was lost._ _

__He hadn’t exactly expected to know where he was, after all it had take a ride through the forest on horseback to get here, but he didn’t expect to get _this_ lost. He had absolutely no sense of where the path was and he couldn’t remember which direction it was back to the camp, all of the paths were twisted and the trees lining them dense. He could have been standing right next to where Tom and the others were situated and not know._ _

__So he thought, though rather belatedly, that he should have expected Tom’s to not be the only gang of highwaymen lurking in the forest._ _

__~*~_ _

__He had waited for everyone to question why they were going to all this effort for one hostage, but they never did. He had a thousand different responses ready in case anyone asked (all of them amounting to Bill’s potential monetary value) but he knew that not one of them was really the root cause of why he wanted to look for Bill. He wanted to look for Bill because he cared about him._ _

__Georg had gone one way with David and Timo, Gustav was with him travelling in the other direction eventually they hoped to circle back on themselves and meet with the other half of the gang, with any luck one or other of them would have Bill in tow._ _

__“Hold on,” Gustav said pausing by a tree, making Tom stop dead in his path, “Something’s happening.”_ _

__Now that there was no longer the crunch of leaves underfoot Tom could hear it too, there were definitely men fighting, it sounded entirely verbal for now, but who knew how long that would last. Tom expected that it was simply travellers grown weary of the company of one another on a long arduous journey, but it never did hurt to check._ _

__“No,” A voice came loudly through the trees; Bill’s voice, “I have spent enough time with highwaymen to last me a lifetime and I have no money, now just go back to your little hole and wait for someone else.”_ _

__This was definitely not good._ _

__Tom gave a short series of hand signals which amounted to, ‘get in, get Bill, dispatch the others and get out.’_ _

__As Tom rounded the corner as silently as he was able he saw Bill held with his arms behind his back by a man that Tom and Gustav recognised as part of the Ferchichi gang, a foreign group that was notorious, but fortunately for Tom they were notorious for being all bulk and no muscle. They were also thought to have almost no intelligence among the lot of them; logic and planning were dirty words. It was good from a strategic point of view, but it meant that they were hard to predict and in a brute force fight these bigger men might have the upper hand._ _

__He decided that intimidation was the best route to go down, taking out both his pistols and checking that they were loaded he stepped into the clearing and used his best no-nonsense voice. “I’d let him go if I were you.”_ _

__“Or what?” the one holding Bill said. The man had a strange accent and was crudely spoken._ _

__Tom realised that words would have little effect here, instead lifting both of his guns to point at the other gang and pulling back the hammer._ _

__Shoving Bill to the ground they walked their way back into the dense forest, as Tom had suspected they were cowards, but he thought it best to get out of there before they returned with weapons and backup. Tom walked towards Bill helping him up from the ground, Bill’s reaction was to violently pull himself away from Tom’s grasp and it almost shocked him to realise that Bill was treating him the same way that he used to._ _

__“I’m not bloody going with you either.” He said sharply starting to wander off in a random direction._ _

__“Bill, we don’t have time, those guys are likely to come back and if you’re unarmed they will just shoot you.” Bill’s step faltered as he stalked towards the trees processing Tom’s words. Seeming to agree or at least understand where Tom was coming from he turned back to the two highwaymen, but was completely silent as they trekked their way back to camp._ _

__Watching Bill at the hands of those men had been the most terrifying moment of Tom’s life. He knew he couldn’t protect Bill from the world around them, but he was going to make certain that Bill could protect himself._ _

__~*~_ _

__“I heard you Tom,” Bill said quietly as they lay next to each other late that same night. Bill had refused to speak throughout the evening and Tom feared that the boy was biding his time until he could try to escape again, but he didn’t seemed inclined to do so thus far._ _

__“Heard what?” Tom questioned, though he feared the answer somewhat._ _

__“You’re going to kill me unless the money arrives.” Bill didn’t look as though he was going to cry, but instead his face was filled with a sadness beyond the range of day to day human emotions._ _

__“Oh.” Silence followed, for Tom didn’t know really what to say. He _had_ said that, but he also didn’t mean a word of it. Bill only knew what he heard. He didn’t know Tom’s thoughts and feelings. “Look,” he said after taking a minute to compose his thoughts, “I know I can’t say anything that would make you believe me, but I’m not going to hurt you.”_ _

__Bill snorted in a clear show of disbelief._ _

__“I promise.” Tom stated emphatically, “I’m _not_ going to hurt you.”_ _

__“And if they don’t pay?” Bill asked, it was clear that any trust he had in Tom had currently dissolved into nothing._ _

__Tom’s returning voice was a whisper, “You could stay here.” He suggested. Bill didn’t bother to dignify that remark with a response. “How about this.” Tom suggested, “I teach you to fight and if for some reason anyone tries to harm you, you’ll be able to defend yourself, agreed?”_ _

__There was a soft smile in return, the first of the entire day. “Agreed.”_ _

__~*~_ _

__The gang were welcome to give Bill the kitchen duty instead of this any day; this was quite beyond the bounds of his expertise._ _

__“Bill, all I’m asking you to do is hold it.”_ _

__“But what if it cuts me?” Bill asked looking at it with a mixture of fear and horror._ _

__Shaking his head Tom held out the sword again. “That’s why you hold it by the handle Bill, not the blade.”_ _

__“Alright, but if I start bleeding I’m blaming you.”_ _

__“Blame away Bill, you’re not going to get cut.” Tom insisted, handing the sword over and then taking his own in hand. “Now first of all you need to take the correct stance, put one foot slightly in front, one slightly behind and spread your weight. This makes it easier to duck in and out whilst facing your opponent.”_ _

__“Aren’t you supposed to keep one hand behind your back?” Bill asked; it was about the only think he could recall from the brief fencing lesson he was given at the age of eight._ _

__“Bill you are going to be fighting, if the person fighting you cared about sporting technique then you have little to worry about in a fight, sport dictates no blood. Now can you please just listen?”_ _

__“Alright then,” Bill sighed, “If you insist.”_ _

__“Okay, now raise your sword in front of you.” Tom instructed._ _

__“With which hand?” Bill asked holding the folded steel at arm’s length as though it was liable to explode._ _

__“Whichever you want Bill it doesn’t matter.” Frustration tinged Tom’s voice. “Now I’m going to bring my sword towards you slowly and you block me with the blunt side of your sword.”_ _

__“Right,” Bill said confidently, “which is the blunt side again?”_ _

__Tom sighed. This was going to be a long, long day._ _

__~*~_ _

__Hans wasn’t initially going to speak to Simone, he thought about Gordon’s insistence that they not tell Bill’s own mother of his capture. On reflection he realised it was... strange to say the least. The gang member’s words were getting to him, what if Gordon _was_ happy for this opportunity to get rid of Bill?_ _

__It wasn’t up to him to question his master’s motives, but Bill’s safety came first and so to that end he had sought an audience with Simone without Gordon’s knowledge._ _

__“Ah, Hans,” she said when the driver knocked, “now what is this all about?”_ _

__“Bill has been kidnapped.” Hans said unwavering, “There is a ransom to be paid, but Master Gordon said that it wasn’t a good idea to pay it.”_ _

__“Are you telling the truth?” Simone said, “Is this why my son had not returned?”_ _

__“God’s own truth ma’am, but please don’t tell Gordon of this, he asked me not to tell you. He kept the letter noting the ransom amount, but the gang gave the figure to me upon my return.”_ _

__Simone did not reply to this, she was too busy thinking of the ways her husband had lied to her in this matter._ _

__“Will you pay the ransom ma’am?” Hans asked when the weight of silence was too much for him._ _

__Standing she found the correct documents in her drawer needed to withdraw the necessary amount from her bank. “Of course I shall, come now,” she said gesturing for Hans to follow her, “we shall obtain the funds as soon as we are able. I shall speak to Gordon about this later.”_ _

__~*~_ _

__She didn’t speak to Gordon as she didn’t want the man to know of Hans’s disloyalty, but she did find the letter of which the driver spoke tucked into Gordon’s lounge jacket._ _

__She wouldn’t stir up the waters, after all, it would be horribly difficult and morally questionable to try and obtain a divorce from the man on such spurious grounds, but she would never trust him again. From now on her son and his version of events would always come first. Gordon was to be kept at a safe distance from her heart._ _

__~*~_ _

__It had been almost another two weeks since Tom’s last meeting with the driver and during that time Tom had been able to teach Bill the basics of sword fighting as well as how to use a gun and close quarter hand to hand combat. Bill had, quite surprisingly, taken to the whole affair like a duck to water. In a very short space of time Tom was having to really think ahead of himself to predict Bill’s next move, he had even been lightly cut across the hand once._ _

__This made Tom feel sure that, if Bill stayed with them, or if he had been inclined to a life of a highwayman (or even a pirate), that Bill would have been one of the best swordsmen in the Great British Isle. Tom felt for certain though that Bill’s talent would go unfostered; there was no way that Bill wanted to drop all of his worldly goods to go and live a life of crime. What reason would he have?_ _

__“I take it you were more successful this time round.” Tom said breaking the quiet of the forest._ _

__“Mistress Simone felt in prudent to pay the sum in return for her son.”_ _

__“I thought as much, do you have it?”_ _

__Hans nodded reaching to gather the bag of money from his satchel, saying nothing as he handed it over and remaining as silent whilst Tom checked the full amount was present._ _

__“Thank you. Tell your mistress that she is a gracious woman. Bill shall be prepared to leave by morning.” He said pocketing the money, “and one more thing,” he added, “Tell Gordon that I know his plans for his stepson and that I’m sure that Bill and Simone would be none too happy to find them out.”_ _

__In truth Tom knew nothing, but he knew the type of man that Gordon was. He almost certainly had something planned to reduce Bill’s inheritance in the future and if Gordon thought that someone was watching, he might behave a little better._ _

__~*~_ _

__Bill was getting ready to leave, he was gathering the few possessions that he had when he was first kidnapped, despite having so little to gather and despite the fact the driver was waiting for him, he still took a long time over it. He was in no hurry to leave this place, not yet._ _

__“Bill?” Tom said softly._ _

__Humming in reply Bill turned to look at the other man who was sitting on a fallen tree._ _

__“Sit with me,” Tom requested and Bill was happy to comply, anything to extend the time he had here at the camp. “I want you to have this.” He said holding out Bill’s practice sword._ _

__“Really?” Bill said taking it with trembling hands, he felt so full of emotion that he was liable to burst._ _

__“Really,” Tom replied, “It’s just a simple old thing, but I feel much better knowing that you’re able to defend yourself should you meet any rogues on your way.”_ _

__Bill snorted, “Fine, should you meet _any other_ rogues.” Tom added smirking too. “Now that there’s no reason for you to stay, I want to say how surprisingly pleasant it was having you here.”_ _

__“Thank you.” Bill said softly, seeming unusually withdrawn._ _

__Tom’s face said all that he was thinking, “What on earth for?”_ _

__The kidnapped boy shrugged unsure of the right answer, “For not killing me, for looking after me when it wasn’t profitable, for being kind even though there was no reason to.”_ _

__“Only you, Bill, could make standard kindness seem like some huge sacrifice, when to everyone else it would be a given.” He gave that laugh, the one that Bill had fallen in love with over the weeks and that would be missed sorely._ _

__Bill felt his heart skip a beat in a way he never had before, looking into Tom’s eyes he could help but know that he was going to miss this. He was going to miss their late night conversations. He was going to miss their training sessions. He was going to miss _Tom_._ _

__He was vaguely aware of how close he really was to Tom. He knew that a man and a woman in such proximity would be deemed to be courting and if he moved but a minute distance, a minute distance that was rapidly decreasing, he would easily be able to tilt his head up to meet Tom’s lips with his own._ _

__“Hey,” Timo said loudly bumbling into the small clearing. Bill and Tom sprang apart so rapidly that they knew that they must have looked suspicious, but Bill hoped that Timo (sweet, affable Timo) wouldn’t realise. “The driver’s getting nervous. I think you should get ready to go pretty sharpish.”_ _

__“Thank you Timo,” Bill said, “I’ll be there shortly.”_ _

__Bill didn’t know what Timo would have seen Bill and Tom doing if he had interrupted them a moment later, and now Bill’s heart felt heavy with the knowledge that he never would._ _

__The journey on to the house in London was surprisingly quick and yet to Bill every mile apart from Tom felt like a ruthless eternity._ _

__~*~_ _

__Gordon was significantly unimpressed with the goings on of the past day. Not only had Bill returned, but he had no idea how. Hans had insisted that they had decided that Bill wasn’t worth his keep and allowed him to return with the driver, but Gordon knew that something else was going on._ _

__And Tom Kaulitz’s message was a particularly harsh slap to the face. How dare he suppose he had the faintest idea of what was going on? How dare he suppose he knew how the real world worked whilst locked in his fantasy world of highwaymen and Robin Hood? The child was pathetic and he made Gordon sick to the back teeth._ _

__This would not go unpunished._ _

__Not for Bill’s kidnap of course, Gordon couldn’t care less about the wellbeing of his whelp of a stepson, but the very _idea_ that Tom thought he could somehow _get_ to Gordon, the very idea that he thought he had _any_ control over matters beyond his ken, was so insulting that he deserved to be arrested, just to know that _ no one_ trifles with Gordon. No one.

~*~

Tom didn’t expect the authorities to come.

Tom didn’t have a plan.

Tom didn’t expect these men to have the patience to comb the whole forest until they found him.

Tom didn’t let any of his gang get caught.

Tom didn’t admit to working with others.

Tom _did_ get arrested.

Tom _was_ in trouble.

Tom didn’t mind.

Everyone he loved was safe.

~*~

The trial was a farce that was over in less than a day. Everyone knew who Tom Kaulitz was and Tom’s insistence that there was no-one else working with him (despite witnesses to the contrary) made his corner very hard to fight. It didn’t help that his defence seemed unwilling to try to defend him. It was clear that every person in that room thought all men like him got what they had coming to them.

There were a handful of ladies there who seemed to be vying for his attention. In the past he would have tossed them a wink and a smirk, maybe letting them believe that they had a chance to get to know the notorious dandy highwayman.

But Tom was silent.

“In these matters, this court finds you guilty. You are to be hung by the neck until dead and may God have mercy on your soul.”

The only thing Tom wished was that Bill was there.

~*~

“Good day to you Master Bill,” Saki called knocking on Bill’s door, “Do you wish to take your breakfast in the main dining room?”

“Yes, thank you Saki. I shall be with you as soon as I can.” Bill was quiet and withdrawn. He had been this way since his return and some of the staff feared that Bill had suffered horrible abuse at the hands of his kidnappers, but none of them knew how wrong they were. Bill wasn’t troubled by his captivity; he missed it.

As Bill sat at the table with his mother he read as much as he could of the day’s newspaper before he got bored.

Today the newspaper did not bore him.

Today it was worse.

The sprawling headline boasted the capture and impending execution of the notorious Tom Kaulitz. There was no mention of any fang member but Bill was not in any way uplifted by news of their freedom. Tom was going to be killed.

Bill was openly crying at the table. The uneducated might mistake it for a release of emotion, stemming from relief, but in reality it borne from a great weight of grief.

Bill loved Tom. He didn’t want him to die.

He almost laughed at the stupidity and injustice of it all. It took Tom being taken from him forever to make him realise how much he truly loved the man.

~*~

Simone was a kind woman, but she was proper and presented. She had had etiquette lessons as soon as she could speak and she knew that everything and everyone had their place. They had their standing. They had their roles to play. Her role was mother and wife (the latter of which she didn’t much care for but in this society it was her lot) so when she saw her child crying it was clear what she had to do.

“Saki, leave us.” Simon commanded.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind him Simon addressed her son in a soft voice. “Bill, what’s wrong?”

But Bill was sobbing too uncontrollably to give a coherent answer, instead giving a half gesture towards the newspaper lying on the table.

“You care for this boy, don’t you, my dear.” She said reaching to hold Bill’s hand.

Shaking his head Bill cocked out “I don’t _care_ about him,” he said, “I _love_ him”

“If you love him sweetheart, then you should go.”

“What?” This sounded very unlike the mother Bill had known his whole life.

“I know that I have married twice to men whom I don’t love.” She stated simply, “If you love this man, then I think that feeling is worth more than anything you could get from a marriage for connections.”

“Thank you, mama.”

Bill knew what he had to do.

~*~

Bill sharpened his blade with nervous hands, he was worried that he would somehow manage to chip or dull it accidentally, but it seemed to be fine, (not that what he thought was ‘fine’ necessarily _was_ , after all, just because he had learnt how to wield a sword didn’t mean he knew how to take care of one, but Bill had a plan to save Tom.

Well, sort of.

He had a plan that would get him close enough to _try_ to help him escape, but Bill didn’t know how many guards there would be or how easy they would be to fight his way through them. He didn’t know how easy it would be for _him_ to escape once Tom was cut loose. He didn’t know if Tom would be willing to follow _his_ lead in order to fight their way out of the gaol. He hoped so, but it wasn’t a certainty.

~*~

Tom was not afraid of death, but he was saddened by it. It saddened him that he would never know how his gang fared without him. It saddened him that he would never know what happened to his mother. It saddened him to realise he would never know what would become of Bill.

But it was too late for him to be frightened by it now. He had wanted to close his eyes on his way to the gallows and be led there by the guard, but after thinking about it he decided that if he could know about none of the things that mattered to him, then he would know how it felt to have the sun shine on his face and see the clear blue sky one last time.

As Tom walked out of the cell he noticed a flurry of movement amongst the guards. Something was catching their attention and whatever it was it was coming this way. “Stay with the prisoner,” one of the guards said to the youngest recruit there before running off to join the fray. The poor kid was younger than Tom and though Tom really didn’t want to hurt the kid, if he were to have a fight with Tom he would lose, no matter what the weapon.

The screams and cries outside the room rose and then died, one man shouted loudly, “Call for reinforcements,” before the sounds outside were completely gone.

As a figure stepped towards them Tom and the boy looked up at the person who had been causing so much grief outside.

“Bill... I... I mean... What are you doing here?” Tom stuttered frozen in place.

“We have time to talk later but right now we have about five and a half minutes to get out of sight before the backup guards arrive. These men aren’t dead so I recommend moving quickly.”

“You can’t leave!” The boy shouted, high pitched and nervous, “I’ll... I’ll stop you!”

Tom didn’t care to wait to see if the boy really could stop him smacking him hard about the jaw so that he wouldn’t be able to do _anything_ much, let alone stop an armed man.

“Where are we going?” Tom asked, if he was going to try and escape he’d much rather be in on the plan.

“There’s a horse outside,” Bill insisted, “We’re going to climb down the back stairs; no-one will expect someone to come down that way. We take the horse and ride as far as we need to, to secure our escape.”

Bill’s plan was efficient, succinct and to Tom’s great surprise went off without a hitch, but he wasn’t going to remain silent about the whole matter. After a few days of riding towards the direction of the sea, Tom eventually spoke of the plan.

“Did you really have to go to all that trouble Bill?” Tom asked a little incredulous, “I mean it was impressive and everything, but I don’t think that you needed to come and save me. I had something worked out.”

“You are so infuriating. You make my blood boil you stubborn, pig-headed ox!”

“I believe that statement was redundant several times over.” Tom pointed out. He drew close to Bill so that they were face to face. “And making your blood boil can only be a good thing,” he added with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Most people would at least go for a simple thank you, but no that’s just too good for the great Tom Kaulitz. You...” But Bill was cut off by Tom’s lips pressing hotly against his.

“Thank you,” he murmured, as the two were barely a hair’s breadth apart.

Bill decided that all other conversation could wait; he was busy losing himself in Tom’s kisses that signalled the start of their next big adventure.

Wherever it would take them.


End file.
